Newsline: Chile resumes diplomatic mission in Iran after 35 years

Chile recently dispatched a chargé d’affaires to Iran in complete silence after 35 years of problematized diplomatic ties. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s next week trip to Chile comes as Chile has recently reopened its embassy in Tehran, ISNA news agency reported. Last September Zarif and his Chilean counterpart Heraldo Muñoz met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, stressing the resumption of diplomatic relations. Iran severed its diplomatic ties with Chile on August 18, 1980, protesting Chilean General Augusto Pinochet regime’s repressive internal policies and giving the Chilean chargé d’affaires in Tehran 15 days to close the embassy and leave the country. Iran and Chile resumed relations on December 2, 1991 with Iran opening its embassy in Santiago, only to close it again in 1999 citing financial problems. The Iranian embassy in Santiago was finally reopened in 2007 at full ambassador level.